Cats & Dogs Oh brother!
by Lian Ryu
Summary: Buyo is tired of seeing his mistress Kagome upset by Inuyasha all the time so he decides to cheer her up... at dog boy's expense of course! Keep reading to find out just how unusual Buyo can really get. More adventure and darker plots as time goes on! Tha
1. Another Game of Splat the Doggie

***Hello there ladies and gents! This fic is dedicated to Artemis Moon. Your comment in your authors note on chapter 21 of Easy as 1,2,3 got my lil brain a buzzin' so I settled in to write this. This is some what a two parter which I hope will get reviewed into more. Hehehe I have an evil plot line if people want me to continue this. Read the notes below and they might explain some things if you get confused. Please review and let me know if you like this! Thanks and I hope you have fun!***  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own Inuyasha but if I did I'd feel sorry for him... I have 6 veeeery evil kitties. (guess where the inspiration came from? -_-; )  
  
  
Another Game of Splat the Doggie...  
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"Oh bother. Here he comes again with that loud abrasive voice and wild gestures."  
  
The unknown speaker shook his head while sighing "I wonder why my mistress puts up with that mangy cur."  
  
One of these days he would really get that dog demon for all that he had done to Kagome, but for now all he could do was pester the hanyou.  
  
"Hanyou..." the silent figure thought as he stalked the swishing mass of silver hair.  
  
"As if a half-breed would ever be worthy of my mistress" was the last thought the creature had before pouncing on the silver mass waving before him.  
  
Kagome and Inuyasha had been arguing once again about how the young miko had to study for an upcoming test when suddenly Inuyasha jerked back while giving an angry shout.  
  
Kagome could not figure out was bugging the dog demon until he spun around to face his attacker.  
  
As Inuyasha spun around Kagome saw the source of Inuyasha's discomfort. Tangled within his silver-white hair looking like a multi-colored burr was a furry object that normally did not go for such things as exercise.  
  
Kagome's hands flew to her face in shock as she cried "Buyo!"  
  
Hearing Kagome's shout, Inuyasha then realized that it was her idiotic cat that had a hold on him and not some unknown demon.  
  
"But for a second..." Inuyasha began to think before his mind moved on to the little problem of a certain furry burr clinging stubbornly to his hair.  
  
Inuyasha got an evil grin as he suddenly dropped to all fours.  
  
Sensing the dog demon's intent, Buyo quickly shifted himself in Inuyasha's silvery mane and got ready to fly.  
  
Sure enough once on all fours Inuyasha began to shake intensively, determined to dislodge his unwanted passenger.  
  
Inuyasha regretted his actions a few seconds later. The young demon had started to give a smirking grin when he felt gravity take hold of the little feline, but it soon turned to a snarl of pain. Unfortunately gravity wasn't the only thing taking hold at that time. Buyo, being the intelligent sort he was, had grabbed a hold of quite a few silken strands and had hung onto them with all his might when Inuyasha had sent him skyward.  
  
When Inuyasha's sudden movements flung Buyo off his back the evil little kitty had taken a number of glittering hairs with him on his flight.  
  
Inuyasha howled in pain and fury as it happened that the hair that Buyo had pulled out Had once originated at the base of poor dog boy's ears.  
  
Kagome's mouth formed a silent 'O' of surprise and horror at these turn of events. As she watched Buyo she could've sworn she saw a look of self satisfaction flicker across his furry face when he dropped the hairs he held and began batting at them in front of Inuyasha.  
  
Seeing this Kagome figured her cat did not have a chance in hell of surviving against Inuyasha. Just when she was about to 'sit' our favorite doggy hero her cat shocked the blazen's out of her by nimbly jumping out of the enraged dog demons path.  
  
Kagome's shock and amazement towards her obese house cat continued to grow as Buyo kept defying gravity by dodging Inuyasha's frantic grabs.  
  
As if finally tiring of playing cat and mouse, or should I say cat and dog, Buyo dodged Inuyasha one more time before facing the enraged teen and clearly yawned as if bored with the whole thing.  
  
Inuyasha saw red...  
  
The young miko was about to save here defenseless cat when said fur ball astonished her once again.  
  
Buyo waited until the last second and when Inuyasha was almost within reach he nimbly leaped over the dog demon's grasping claws, landed on a silvery launch pad, and then leapt off once more, only to send Inuyasha tumbling into the mud puddle that the annoying feline had been sitting in front of...  
  
Time stood still as the wind wrapped around the three actors of this ridiculous play. Kagome's eyes were unusually wide as she stared in horror at the tense, still, form of Inuyasha in the ugly brown puddle. Buyo sat a few feet away licking his paw, completely ignoring the imminent danger surrounding him.  
  
The quiet that had settled over the shrine was soon shredded as Inuyasha exploded from the ground flinging mud everywhere.  
  
"Idiot" Buyo thought as he moved just enough so as not to get any mud on his fur. He gave Kagome a quick glance to make sure the rude hanyou had not sullied his mistress.  
  
Though not really seeming to Buyo kept an eye on the volatile being before him. Buyo idly wondered how long he would get to play with the hanyou before his mistress became too worried. Dodging Inuyasha's next charge Buyo realized that this play session of "splat the dog boy" had gone on longer than most of his previous games.  
  
Twisting in mid air, allowing Inuyasha to sail beneath him, Buyo was able to take a quick glance at his mistress. Seeing her pole axed expression the feline grasped the notion that his unusual antics had stunned her into immobility for the moment.  
  
Not being one to pass up such an opportunity, Buyo decided to give his mistress a good laugh. At the dog boy's expense of course. Smirking the evil little kitty thought "Oh this was going to be fun..."  
  
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Ok I'm sure you've noticed that I kept using the word Hanyou and to some it's offensive towards Inuyasha, but you've got to remember 2 things: #1 Buyo does NOT like Inuyasha #2 It's only Buyo who calls him Hanyou. If you think Buyo is acting a little strange then you'll have to review so that I'll write a chapter 3 won't you? -_~ (Chapter 2 doesn't explain some things that go on with Buyo... only 3) Thank you for reading and I hope to see you in chapter 2! 


	2. The Fun And Games Are Over Or Are They?

****Hello there! If you are reading this then you actually survived reading chapter 1 and decided to read on to chapter 2! That's great! ...Or that just means you're a glutton for punishment. Either way I am so glad to see you! Well I'll let you get on with the story now. Bye!****  
  
Disclaimer: Inuyasha sadly does not belong to me. Oh yeah any resemblance to the insane behavior of Buyo and some one else's cat is just coincidence. The insanity is all from my fur balls... (Pity Me...-_-; )   
  
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Recap:  
  
Not being one to pass up such an opportunity, Buyo decided to give his mistress a good laugh. At the dog boy's expense of course. Smirking the evil little kitty thought "Oh this was going to be fun..."  
  
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The Fun And Games Are Over... Or Are They?  
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The next time that Inuyasha sprang for him Buyo scurried between the demon's legs, causing Inuyasha to fall on all fours.  
  
Inuyasha didn't bother getting up from his crouched position before sweeping out a clawed hand at the annoyance known as a cat.  
  
Watching them, Kagome's eyes about popped from her head in surprise at the antics of the two.  
  
She didn't know how Buyo managed it but her dear little kitty kept Inuyasha too busy to let him realize that he was chasing the cat just like any other dog...  
  
Around and around went the two. Climbing, jumping, hell even taking a twisting rebound off the sacred God tree in the yard.  
  
During all this Kagome tried to stay silent. Really she did, but after watching the two acting so, so, well, like normal animals, she did something that stopped Inuyasha faster than any 'sit' ever did.  
  
Kagome burst out laughing.  
  
As the first notes of her laughter reached Inuyasha's sensitive ears, he immediately stopped running to stare at her while breathing a little heavily.  
  
Kagome paused in her laughter as she stared at the panting dog demon in front of her. She took in how he was crouched on his heels, some what in a frog like position, while his mouth gaped slightly open as he took in some much needed oxygen.  
  
Even with a scene like that the young Miko had been doing very well about stifling her laughter until she felt something soft brushing up against her legs. Kagome looked down to see Buyo winding himself between her legs and when he realized that he had her attention Buyo turned to look up at her. Her mischievous cat then proceeded to give her a chirping purr as if to say "aren't I a good kitty?"  
  
That had been the straw that broke the camel's back. Kagome burst into gales of laughter.  
  
Buyo watched as Inuyasha sniffed and gave his usual 'Feh' while stalking back towards the well.  
  
The Calico gave himself a congratulatory grin as his mistress continued to laugh, not even noticing that Inuyasha had left in a huff. Buyo knew that Kagome might be a little upset with herself later but for now she was happy.  
  
Buyo nudged her until Kagome began to go into the house, still chuckling a bit. Once Kagome had gone into the house Buyo gave a quick thoughtful glance at the well. "Things had worked out better than I had thought they would. My mistress is happy and the Hanyou is somewhat humiliated. She will get to study and rest for at least two more days while the Hanyou deals with his embarrassment and by then things will go back to normal."  
  
Buyo turned to go into the house and just as his tail disappeared through the doorway he gave the yard a fleeting smirk "I've really got to remember this the next time dog boy needs to be put in his place."  
  
~THE END?~  
  
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Ok peoples that's it... unless you say you'd like more... there is a whole storyline to this little short, but if you say you don't want it I won't continue. Yes cats are delightfully evil little buggers and sometimes they do act like this. Trust me... personal experience. * mutters * I thought my friend would never speak to me after that incident... Oh well! Hopefully I'll see you alls later! Ja Ne! 


	3. What Am I? Can you Guess? Dare You Guess...

@%@%@%@%@ Yay! You liked the story! Well since you're reading this  
I've decided to continue on with the story. It gets a little more serious but  
there still will be quite a bit of humor thrown in. Ever wondered where  
Kagome got Buyo? Well here's where you find out. So on with the  
show!!@%@%@%@%@  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Inuyasha but I do own 6 very cute and evil  
kitties!  
  
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What Am I? Can you Guess? Dare You Guess?  
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Buyo was upset. No, upset did not properly express what he was feeling at  
that moment. Enraged, irate, furious, testy, err... now how did his mistress  
say it? Ah yes! Pissed off. Yes that fit his mood right about now...  
  
His beloved mistress had come home later that day as a mess he almost  
didn't recognize. Thought she hid the injuries well with the jeans and long  
sleeved sweater, his sensitive nose could still smell the lingering scent of  
blood on her.  
  
Buyo was disquieted by the smell of blood yes, but it was the other scent  
that made him want to find the mangy little hanyou and do many nasty  
horrible things to him.  
  
His Kagome had been crying.  
  
Buyo bristled as he sniffed the clothing that his mistress had left on the  
floor before leaving the room to take a bath. Yes, there was the scent of the  
hanyou, but there was something else there as well.  
  
The wary house cat took a deeper sniff and immediately regretted it as he  
erupted into sneezes at the dead earth smell.  
  
Growling Buyo would've taken a swipe at the offending scents, but that  
might've ruined his mistress' clothing.  
  
Just at that moment Kagome came through the door and the cat quickly  
stifled his growling. His mistress was already upset and did not need to  
think that her beloved pet was upset with her.  
  
Kagome sat on her bed, slowly drying her hair with a towel when she  
noticed Buyo gazing at her. The young Miko seemed to understand that  
her furry companion was worried about her. Dropping her towel Kagome  
went over to pick up the warm fuzz ball.  
  
As she held the cat to her Kagome buried her face into Buyo's furry side,  
comforted by the love radiating from the feline.  
  
Sensing his mistress' need for comfort Buyo began to softly purr. When he  
felt her smile into his fur he then craned his neck around just enough to  
give her cheek and part of her forehead a few quick licks.  
  
Buyo became very proud of himself when he heard the young Miko giggle  
because of his gentle ministrations.  
  
Kagome pulled her face from her pet's fur and gave him a warm gentle  
smile along with a small hug.  
  
"Thank you Buyo. I really needed to know that someone really cares for  
me" Kagome said softly, still cuddling him to her.   
  
Kagome then turned and sat on her bed while still talking to her attentive  
pet.  
  
"Buyo, do you remember how we got you?"  
  
"Purrow" Buyo replied, though really wishing with all his heart that he could  
just speak with his mistress. Yes, he remembered that day with crystalline  
clarity.  
  
He had been injured earlier that dismal gray morning nine years ago.  
Hoping to find shelter he had run towards a tree, only to find a young  
human boy already underneath it. The young boy had taken one look at his  
scrawny messed up body and promptly picked him up. Before Buyo could  
react the boy had placed him in a box with many other small furry bodies,  
much like his own.  
Apparently the boy had been giving kittens away all day because before  
Buyo knew it an enraged woman came up to the boy scolding him as she  
took him away leaving Buyo and one other lone kitten in the box.  
  
As night fell so too did a soft yet cold rain. The two felines were protected  
for a while by the sheltering tree branches, but it wasn't to last long.  
  
When the first drop hit his companion it gave a small mew of distress.  
When two more drops fell upon it's small head it began to let out quite a  
few more heart wrenching wails.   
  
Buyo felt pity for it and tried to comfort it by licking it's head, but as the rain  
continued to fall the action became nothing more than a false hope.  
  
Luckily enough a couple walking by heard the poor thing and picked it up,  
not even noticing Buyo lying there as well.  
  
Sighing Buyo thought "it is as it should be."  
  
He curled up into a painful little ball in the last dry spot of the box covered  
by one of the flaps and tried to go to sleep.  
  
That was when he heard it.  
  
The chittering...  
  
Hoping he was wrong, with all his fur standing on end, Buyo cautiously  
peered over the edge of his box. His heart stopped for a moment before it  
started to race at an almost painful pace. They were here, when he was  
almost completely defenseless.  
  
Demons.  
  
True they were extremely low level and small but in his condition they were  
enough to take his life.  
  
Lamenting about his earlier fight, Buyo did not realize that he had let out a  
small moan of despair.  
  
The moan caught the ears of the little black shadows and they slowly  
began to stalk the box that Buyo lay in.  
  
Feeling the box shake a bit Buyo quickly looked up only to see two burning  
yellow eyes set into the head of one of the shadowy demons.  
  
Buyo glared at the thing while arching his back, if he was going to go down  
he was going down fighting!  
  
Just as he was about to swipe at the offending creature Buyo watching in  
amazement as the thing was literally swept away by an old broom.  
  
He heard a high pitched screech and before he could even wrap his  
befuddled mind around what was going on he felt himself being picked up  
and placed into a warm jacket next to a pounding heart.  
  
He heard the shout come from above and looked up into the face of a  
young human girl. Her mouth was turned down into a scowl and her eyes  
flashed in anger as she swung at the little demons at her feet.  
  
"She shouldn't have seen me" Buyo began to think before he was  
interrupted by the girl shouting and swinging the broom again.  
  
"Go away! You can't have him!"  
  
Buyo watched confused as the things stayed away from the wildly swinging  
broom. Not that he wanted them to, but he couldn't figure out why didn't  
they just charge the girl? She was maybe six or seven by human standards  
so even these pathetic weaklings should've been able to take her.  
  
He got his answers a few seconds later when the leader of the group  
jumped for her, aiming at him...  
  
Buyo gave a warning yowl and the girl turned with narrowed eyes at the  
gangly black creature. Buyo felt a small current run through the girl as she  
swung at the creature as if she was waving a baseball bat around.  
  
When the broom connected with the creature it had just enough time to let  
out a piercing chitter before it exploded into a shower of blue sparks.  
  
Seeing their leader disappear before their eyes the rest of the demons  
gave a few fearful chitters before dispersing into the shadows of the stormy  
night.  
  
"Those were nasty spiders!" the young girl exclaimed as she cuddled Buyo  
to her.  
  
"I wonder what happed with that one though... Every other time I've  
squished a spider they didn't do that"  
  
Buyo started and looked up at the girl "did she not know? How couldn't she  
realize that she was a Miko?"  
  
As she walked up the steps that were near by he realized that indeed the  
little human had no clue to what she truly was. Soon enough he realized  
why. There was not a trace of the power that she had called on earlier  
anywhere.  
  
Mentally he shrugged as he thought "she had saved his life and it seemed  
that she was going to take care of him. There were worse things in life than  
being treated like a pampered house pet and she had saved his life so he  
would do the same in return until she no longer needed him."  
  
When Kagome had brought the ragged feline home her mother saw the  
stubborn twist to her daughter's mouth and knew that they now had a new  
pet.  
  
Buyo saw that none of her family had a clue as to what Kagome was or  
what she could become later on in her years. For all her grandfather's talk  
he would not even listen to the young girl when she had insisted that Buyo  
gave her "buzzy" feelings not "fuzzy" feelings. This too soon passed and  
the rest was lost in the times of childhood...  
  
Buyo shook his head clear of memories and turned to look up at his  
mistress giving a cat equivalent of a smile. What he had thought would've  
been only a year or two of association turned into nine years of loving  
friendship.  
  
Still purring, happy from the memories, Buyo chucked Kagome under the  
chin causing her teeth to lightly clack together.  
  
Kagome gave a chuckle and vigorously scratched Buyo's ears and neck.  
She then gave a happy sigh and placed Buyo on her bed while heading to  
her dresser. Pulling out her pink pajamas Kagome realized from the soft  
flowery scent that her mother had just washed them that day.  
  
Buyo quickly spun about as Kagome dropped her towel covering her body  
to the floor. He listened as she put on her pajamas and once the rustling of  
fabric had stopped he turned around as if he had just been making himself  
comfortable.  
  
Kagome smiled as the patchwork feline began settling in for the night and  
decided that it was time for her to get some shut eye as well. She quickly  
scooted over to the bed and lay down ready to sleep.  
  
Buyo curled up next to her head and gave a contented yawn that looked  
like it was about to split his face in half.  
  
Kagome chuckled softly as she lay one hand on Buyo's furry side slowly  
drifting off "stay with me always Buyo..."  
  
As Kagome fell into a deep slumber she never saw her pet's eyes glow  
yellow for a moment and she certainly never heard him whisper "forever  
and a lifetime my mistress, forever and a lifetime..."  
  
  
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Ah! So what did you think!? I'm sorry it took so long but I work retail and  
only get one day off a week at this point... I hate my job... Anyway! Please  
tell me what you think and read the next chapter, hehehe. For those of you  
who want to see Inuyasha get revenge the next chapter MAY be to your  
liking. Will Inuyasha get revenge or will he miss his chance? Find out in  
chapter 4 titled "Revenge Is Sweet, If You Can Get It..." hehehe ~_- 


	4. Revenge Is Sweet, If You Can Get It

@%@%@%@%@ Yay! You liked the story! My my! So many of you on the  
same wavelength as I can't say why until you read the first bit (might ruin  
the ...surprise?) I thank you all soooooo much for the lovely reviews! I was  
very surprised to see so many people enjoying this. Well I'll stop here so  
you can read the rest! So now on with the show!!@%@%@%@%@  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Inuyasha *sigh* *evil grin* but maybe one day  
my fur balls can get him for me...  
  
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Revenge Is Sweet, If You Can Get It...  
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"Come on wench! You've stayed for your three days and now we're on my  
time!" Inuyasha growled at the wandering Kagome.  
  
Kagome scowled at Inuyasha "I am not leaving! Mamma said that Buyo  
never showed up for breakfast this morning and she hasn't seen him all  
day! I want to know if my cat is all right!"  
  
"Feh, as if that thing you call a cat would ever wander from such a cushy  
place. He's so pampered he wouldn't even know how to catch a mouse if  
you dangled it in his face!"  
  
"Oh! Why you... Oh!" Kagome huffed.  
  
Inuyasha then did something incredibly stupid, he smirked saying "feh!"  
  
Giving a small scream of rage Kagome then shouted "OSUWARI!!"  
  
From his place in the bushes Buyo chuckled "I always love seeing that, but  
I had better let my mistress see me or things will never get on the road."  
  
Making sure to rattle the leaves Buyo stepped out and gave a rumbling  
meow.  
  
"Buyo!" Kagome shouted in happy delight as she quickly scooped the cat  
into her arms.  
  
Pulling his head from the ground and resting it on one of his upraised arms  
Inuyasha said "there, you found the miserable fur ball. Now can we go!?"  
  
Kagome's back stiffened and Inuyasha could've sworn he saw the  
despicable creature give a quick evil smile before Kagome spun around to  
face him.  
  
She gently put Buyo down before asking "What did you say?"  
  
Realizing that a 'sit' was going to be said if he didn't tell her the right thing  
Inuyasha replied "You found him can we go?"  
  
Kagome glared at him for a moment more before nodding and reaching  
over to pick up her bag. A brief look of puzzlement went across her face as  
she thought "Is it me or did my bag get a little heavier?"  
  
Shrugging she ignored the thought and jumped through the well.  
  
On the other side of time Kagome was greeted by the rest of the group with  
smiles, hugs, and *SLAP* wandering hands... -_-;  
  
The shard hunting group went to Kaede's hut while laughing at the chatter  
that Shippo thought was very important.  
  
"And then Sango had Miroku doing a really good impression of a 'sat'  
Inuyasha!" Shippo declared proudly just before he was snatched off  
Kagome's shoulder by said irate dog demon.  
  
Since he was the only one to be facing backwards at the time, Shippo  
happened to be the only one to see a multi-colored blur disappear into the  
trees on the sides. He would've said something if not for Inuyasha suddenly  
being determined to see if he could retain fox shape while being pounded  
on the head.  
  
The blur escaped from his mind only to be replaced by one certain thought  
"Kagome! Inuyasha's picking on me!"  
  
Kagome walked by the two, plucked Shippo out of Inuyasha's grasp, and  
said "osuwari!" over her shoulder as she continued on her way into the  
village.  
  
"Damn wench! Who does she think... What the!?"  
  
Suddenly Inuyasha was no longer interested in cursing Kagome. A certain  
scent had teasingly wafted by his nose as he lay there.  
  
"Gah! That damn miserable piece of fur must be getting to me more than I  
thought! Now I'm starting to smell him even here!"  
  
Inuyasha pulled himself from the ground, dusted himself off, then headed  
to the hut where the rest of the group awaited.  
  
Inuyasha never noticed the shadows that seemed to shift contrary to the  
sparkling sun, nor the two yellow eyes watching him from beneath a nearby  
bush.  
  
"Yes very soon little pup we will see if you are worthy of my mistress, and if  
you are not, beware the tides of fate that will befall you" Buyo muttered as  
he slipped to the side of the hut where Kagome and the others were.  
  
Peering in he saw Kagome's face alight with laughter as Sango once again  
had to 'sweetly' remind Miroku exactly what happened to hentai's who  
grabbed armed women. Buyo nodded and leapt to the roof to settle in.  
  
"She is happy and safe..." was the last thought of the cat as he fell asleep  
listening to the chiming sound of his mistress' warm laughter.  
  
"Oh my god! Inuyasha, are you all right!?" Kagome called out as she ran  
across the newly torn up battlefield.  
  
"Get back you idiot! It's not completely dead yet!" Inuyasha shouted as he  
saw one of the creature's arms begin to twitch.  
  
Kagome stopped to turn with confusion written on her face just in time to  
see a bladed arm heading straight for her head.  
  
"Kagome!!" Inuyasha shouted as he struggled to race across the field.  
  
"Damn! Too slow! Too slow!" Inuyasha's mind shouted as he saw he was  
going to be a few seconds too late.   
  
"Why was he so slow when things really mattered!?" Inuyasha thought as  
he gave one last cry "Kagome!!"  
  
Earlier that day had been a wonderful morning to wake up to. Kagome's  
Feudal alarm clock of Sango beating the crap out of Miroku woke her up  
just in time to get dressed and have some breakfast before they headed  
out for some shard hunting.  
  
Kagome sighed in pleasure as she breathed in the barely chilled autumn  
air. "I love this time of the year. It's not too cold, not too warm and the trees  
display all sorts of wonderful colors!"  
  
Hearing Kagome's interpretation of the autumn day everyone, including a  
strange little shadow nodded in agreement with her insight. Well everyone  
except a stubborn dog boy.  
  
"Hey Inuyasha, what is your favorite season?" Kagome asked, caught up in  
the feeling of the beautiful day.  
  
"Feh, I don't have time to watch the seasons like some people. Every  
season meant hardship of one kind or another so of course I hate them all."  
  
Kagome's eyes widened at this "but isn't there some time of the year that  
you like?"  
  
"Feh! As I said before, I've never had time to look at the changes of the  
weather. Are you finished with your silly questions now? We still have to  
find the shards of the jewel you broke you know!"  
  
This of course caused Kagome to retaliate and so it went back and forth  
until the two were no longer speaking to each other.  
  
That was when Kagome had enough time to shout "Inuyasha! Shard!"  
before the ground exploded.  
  
At first it had seemed like a normal centipede youkai until Sango had tried  
to hit it with her boomerang. The metallic clang and her boomerang  
returning to her a bit wobbly proved that there was more to this critter than  
what there seemed to be.   
  
Soon they found that Inuyasha's regular attacks had very little affect on it  
and Sango's boomerang just caused a few dents in it's hide. Miroku could  
not use his Kazzan or else they would loose the shard. The only thing they  
could think of was to use the Wound of the Wind.   
  
The only problem was that every time Inuyasha was about to strike for it,  
the creature would head for Kagome. They came up with a quick plan in  
that Miroku would pull at it with the Kazzan giving Inuyasha enough time to  
pull off his finishing move.  
  
Everything had been going great, Inuyasha managed to slice and dice the  
thing, and Kagome had been running to him when he realized the shard  
was still animating one piece.   
  
Unfortunately that piece was all that was needed to put Kagome in death's  
doorway.  
  
@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@  
  
Ohhh... evil cliffie! Ack! No throwing blunt objects at the writer! *Eyes  
widen as she screams and ducks* No throwing sharp ones either!!! Sorry  
but in almost all my stories I have to have one truly evil cliffhanger... Don't  
know when I came up with that rule but think of it this way, you got the  
major evil cliffie over with! *mutters* now you just have to deal with the  
minor ones -_~ I hope you all liked this and I hope to see you all in the next  
chapter! 


	5. A Friend In Need

@%@%@%@%@ *Runs into her room and baracades the door with  
sheet metal* Jeez you guys are nasty! But I love it! That means you really  
took the time to read the whole thing and it did affect you in some way. I'm  
so happy!!! Oh my! 39 reviews for this!? @_@ Thank you all for the lovely  
reviews and I hope you continue to read this as it goes on. Well now I  
guess I'll stop here so you can read the rest! So now on with the  
show!!@%@%@%@%@  
  
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Inuyasha *sigh*  
  
@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@  
  
RECAP:  
  
Everything had been going great, Inuyasha managed to slice and dice the  
thing, and Kagome had been running to him when he realized the shard  
was still animating one piece.   
  
Unfortunately that piece was all that was needed to put Kagome in death's  
doorway.  
  
@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@  
  
  
A Friend In Need...  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
"Too slow!" Inuyasha once thought more as he was about to dive for  
Kagome... who was no longer there?  
  
Inuyasha heard a voice speak scornfully "Che! I knew you were not worthy  
of my mistress. You can't even get rid of this thing."  
  
That was all the warning Inuyasha got before the pieces of the centipede  
demon just fell to dust in the wave of golden light that seemed to appear  
from no where.  
  
The group's mouths hung open at the sight that greeted them when the  
dust and light dissipated.  
  
There was Kagome safe and sound curled up in the arms of a man with the  
slight features of a cat.  
  
Triangle ears twitched upon the top of his head, gathering the sounds of  
the area around them. A multi-colored tail lashed in anger while two molten  
amber eyes glared at the dog demon in front of them. The arms and body  
of the cat demon were strong and steady as Kagome was held tightly to  
him.  
  
"Let her go you jerk" Inuyasha growled out.  
  
The cat demon snorted "why? Just so you can go and try to get her killed  
again?"  
  
Inuyasha jerked as if slapped and the cat demon smirked before a look of  
worry crossed his features "are you all right my mistress?"  
  
Kagome blinked at the unfamiliar person but had a strange feeling as if she  
should really know who this was.  
  
"Umm, I'm sorry, but do I know you?" Kagome asked quietly.  
  
A bit of sadness entered the man's eyes "you truly do not know me my  
mistress?"  
  
Feeling a little guilty now Kagome studied the face before her for a few  
moments before her eyes widened in recognition and she threw her arms  
around the man's neck while laughing.  
  
Everyone sat there stunned and Inuyasha felt something inside tug  
painfully at his heart.   
  
That was until he heard Kagome shout out "Buyo! It's you!"  
  
Inuyasha's mouth gaped open in shock before landing on his butt as his  
legs gave way.  
  
"But, but..." Inuyasha trailed off as Buyo interrupted him.  
  
"Yes that was your rear end you landed on, what about it?"  
  
"Ah Kagome-sama could you please introduce us to your companion?"  
Miroku said eyeing the cat demon in front of him.  
  
"Oh! Sorry about that. I guess the surprise of all this addled my mind."  
  
"I don't think your mind is the only one confused" Sango said as she looked  
towards Inuyasha.  
  
Buyo snorted "Dog boy's mind addled?" Narrowing his eyes he glared at  
the half-demon in front of him "You don't have to worry about that, his mind  
is always messed up."  
  
This snapped Inuyasha out of his stupor and he shouted "what the hell did  
you say!?"  
  
"You heard me hanyou. If you could treat my mistress the way you do when  
she tries to be so kind to you, then your brain matter is nothing more than  
scrambled eggs."  
  
With a snarl of rage Inuyasha leaped at Buyo fully intending to rip the fuzzy  
ears and flicking tail off the Neko.  
  
Just when Inuyasha was within reach he was suddenly yanked to the  
ground by his ankles. Before he could even move he was suddenly bound  
to the ground by what seemed to be large tree roots.  
  
"You incredibly selfish jerk of a hanyou!!" Buyo bellowed. "Did you even  
think before you tried to attack me!? If I had moved the wrong way or not at  
all you would've hit Kagome!"  
  
Inuyasha immediately stilled as the words Buyo had shouted penetrated his  
brain. Turning his head he saw Kagome staring at him wide-eyed and, to  
his relief, very well protected in Buyo's arms.  
  
Inuyasha's head sank back to the ground in self recrimination.   
  
Seeing Inuyasha's demeanor Kagome pulled herself away from Buyo and  
went over to Inuyasha's side.  
  
"Buyo, please let him go" Kagome said softly.  
  
"As you wish." Not a word was said nor a movement made, but the roots  
that had once held Inuyasha slid back into the ground and disappeared as  
if they had never been there.  
  
"Inuyasha" Kagome began quietly. "You may not have consciously noticed  
me in the way at the time, but no matter what, you have always protected  
me and I believe you would not have hurt me then."  
  
Inuyasha looked up into Kagome's (something color) eyes. He almost  
flinched at the trust he saw reflected in the depths of her shimmering eyes  
but then decided to meet he gaze unwavering.  
  
Kagome smiled, got up from the ground, and held out her hand to Inuyasha  
saying "now there's the Inuyasha I know."  
  
Inuyasha's gaze flickered over to Buyo for a moment and saw that the  
Neko's gaze had a warning hidden in it "take her hand or so help me..."  
  
Inuyasha took Kagome's hand, not because of the cat glaring at him, but  
as an apology for earlier. Though the smile he got from Kagome in return  
just might influence his attitude towards letting her help him every so often  
in the future.  
  
  
@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@  
There you go! Buyo's secret is out and there was some slight WAFF for Inu  
& Kagome fans! Sorry this is so short but trust me Buyo is far from through  
with Inuyasha. After all he's got almost one year of heart wrenching pain  
that Inuyasha caused Kagome to have to make up for, right? -_-; Oh! And  
on a note Kikyo fans should stop reading now! The next few chapters have  
her pop up in either just passing or actually showing up and suffice it to say  
Buyo does NOT like her... Ok see you all later! 


	6. A Line Is Drawn

@%@%@%@%@ Gomen! Gomen! I know it took forever to get this done but I hope you don't hurt me too badly for the delay. I just haven't really had time to type much lately Plus this chapter was halfway through when poof! No more chapter… Thank you to those who have reviewed and stuck with me! Ok, it seems Kagome's eyes in the manga are grey and in the anime they are brown… I'm going with brown in my fic. I'll stop here so you can read the rest! So now on with the show!!@%@%@%@%@  
  
Dictionary:   
Youki = evil spirit that demons give off (the smoke like stuff Inuyasha uses to find where to attack)  
  
Neko = Cat  
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Inuyasha *sigh*  
  
@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@  
  
  
A Line Is Drawn...  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
  
The group had decided since Buyo was now a part of their little shard  
hunting group he should be introduced to Kaede and the rest of the  
villagers.  
  
Upon seeing the wizened Miko, Buyo went to one knee and giving a slight  
bow, thanked her for taking care of Kagome while she was in this time. Of  
course this endeared him to the Older Miko.  
  
Soon enough the group once more set out to find the Shikon shards. They  
had walked for most of the day and into the evening when they decided to  
make camp.   
  
The usual bustle occurred except for the screams and clocking Miroku on  
the head for peeping while the girls took a bath. The hentai priest didn't  
dare while he was being pinned by Buyo's glaring eye just daring him to try.  
They all settled in and after about an hour everyone was asleep, almost  
everyone that was.  
  
As Inuyasha lay in a tree watching the night sky he suddenly sensed  
Buyo's presence behind him. The young dog demon flicked an ear back  
and gave a soft "feh" to let his fellow demon know that he had sensed him.  
  
"Took you long enough pup" Buyo said as he lightly sprang from his perch  
onto the branch that Inuyasha was currently occupying. "I must've been  
waiting a good three minutes waiting for you to do something."  
  
Inuyasha just snorted "what do you want Neko?"  
  
"What I want pup, is to see if you can tell me whose scent is on this."  
  
Inuyasha looked up to see Buyo holding out one of Kagome's shirts to him.  
  
"The first is Kagome's scent but the second is not familiar to me. It does not  
belong to any of our current companions nor to any of those in the village."  
  
Inuyasha reluctantly took the shirt from the neko demon's hand and sniffed  
it. Sure enough there was the overwhelming presence of Kagome, but  
strangely enough there was the scent of Kikyo as well.  
  
"When had Kikyo ever got close enough to Kagome to leave her scent on  
Kagome's shirt?" Inuyasha thought to himself.  
  
Buyo's voice interrupted Inuyasha's musings when he said "do you know  
who the scent belongs to or not?"  
  
"Feh, it belongs to someone named Kikyo."  
  
"So Kikyo's her name..."  
  
Inuyasha did not like the thoughtful look the Neko was wearing so he rudely  
asked "what's so important about knowing whose scent that was?"  
  
Buyo looked over at Inuyasha as if coming out of a trance "Hmm.. Wha?"  
Buyo paused for a moment before continuing "oh yes, the scent. I just  
usually like to know the name of those who I plan to kill."  
  
Buyo then faded into the shadows before Inuyasha could process what the  
cat demon had just said. By the time the full meaning of Buyo's statement  
hit Inuyasha the other demon was already gone.  
  
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he glared at the spot Buyo had just vacated  
"this is far from over Neko..."  
  
The next morning Kagome was awoken by a soft tickling sensation on her  
nose. She batted at the offending thing and snuggled closer into her bag.  
Once more the annoying thing invaded her senses along with a few muffled  
giggles. Cracking one eye open a tiny bit she was greeted with a multi-  
colored fuzzy thing waving in her face.  
  
Kagome bolted upright screeching "CATERPILLAR!!"  
  
Kagome then blinked as the group around her fell over laughing. As she  
looked to the side she saw Buyo with tears streaming down his face, from  
laughing so hard, she realized that it had been his tail and not some bug  
that had woken her up.  
  
"Buuuyyoo!" Kagome growled as she glared at the now frozen Neko.  
  
By that tone of voice Buyo realized he had five seconds to fight or flee.  
  
Unfortunately he took six seconds to decide and was flattened to the  
ground as Kagome pounced on him.  
  
The group began to cheer for Kagome as she straddled Buyo, tickling his sides turning him helpless as he was laughing to hard.  
  
"What the hell is this!?" Inuyasha shouted as he came into the clearing.  
  
All sound suddenly disappeared as everyone fell silent to look at the boiling dog demon glaring at them all.  
  
Brushing her hair from her face Kagome said "we were only playing Inuyasha."  
  
"Playing, right" Inuyasha drawled as he pointedly looked at Kagome who was still sitting on Buyo.  
  
Kagome looked down to see Buyo smirking up at her and she then realized what the two of them must look like.  
"Kyaa!" Kagome shrieked as she quickly scrambled off Buyo.  
  
A few seconds later she delivered a scorching glare to the chuckling cat demon as he slowly rose to his feet.  
  
"Hey Neko! I have a bone to pick with you." Inuyasha growled as he pointed at Buyo.  
  
"Ooh, bad pun dog-boy!" Buyo exclaimed as he threw one arm over his eyes in a dramatic pose.  
  
Kagome snickered as Inuyasha growled at the cat demons theatrics.  
  
Suddenly Buyo got a serious look to his face saying "what is it that you want pup?"  
  
"Quit calling me pup!" Inuyasha roared. "You're probably only a few years older than me and I'm 67!"  
  
Buyo gave a snort and shook his head "oh please pup, I'm 482 and fifty of your years don't count since you were out for a little ciesta at the time."  
  
Inuyasha grumbled "it doesn't matter how old you are, and what the hell is a ciesta!?"  
  
Kagome sighed mentally "note to self, no more international channels for Buyo…"  
  
"A siesta is another word for taking a nap pup. So the truth of this all is that you are really only seventeen.  
  
"Feh!"  
  
Buyo sighed "ah, and people say those of youth are the shining star of our future." He looked over at Inuyasha pointedly as he leaned towards Sango stage whispering "A pretty dim future ne?"  
  
With a wordless growl Inuyasha launched himself at Buyo, fully intending to hook his claws into the smirking neko.  
  
Well, that was what he was Intending to do… until he heard that fateful word…   
  
"OSUWARI!"  
  
Kagome stalked over to the fuming and flattened dog demon "Inuyasha, you should really learn to talk to people instead of trying to rip their throats out."  
  
Just as Buyo was about to stick his tongue out at the slightly squashed dog-boy Kagome rounded on him. Buyo quickly shut his mouth as Kagome's flashing eyes landed on him. "Oopsie… he was toast."  
  
"And you! Quit baiting Inuyasha! If you really are over 400 then you should know better than that!"  
  
The rest of the group watched in amazement as the somewhat small, futuristic, Miko faced down two powerful demons.  
  
"As you wish mistress" Buyo sighed.  
"Inuyasha?" Kagome queried, with a note in her voice that said if he didn't comply there was going to be a hell of a lot more 'sits' in his future.  
  
All she got was a assenting "feh…"  
  
Taking that as an affirmative Kagome clapped her hands saying "Ok everyone, lets go!"  
  
"Do you even know where you're going?" Inuyasha scoffed.  
  
With a strained smile Kagome turned to him saying "of course I do. I thought it would be a good idea to follow the shard that I've been sensing for the past half hour coming from that direction."  
  
Inuyasha gaped in the direction her finger was pointing before he exploded "why the hell didn't you say so in the first place!"  
  
Before Kagome could respond, and start another shouting match, Buyo placed himself in front of her saying "just where the hell do you get off speaking like that to her pup!?"  
  
"I'll speak to anyone anyway I want Neko!"  
  
Crossing his arms Buyo glared gave a Inuyasha a disdainful glare as he muttered "Che! It's no wonder she comes back upset most of the time."  
  
Inuyasha's next comment was abruptly back peddling in his throat when he realized what Buyo had just told him.  
  
"It's all-right Buyo. Let's just get going" Kagome said softly as she tugged on the cat demon's arm.  
  
Giving one last glare to the stupefied pup Buyo turned while saying "as you wish my mistress."  
  
As the group began walking Inuyasha could hear Kagome's voice float back to him.  
  
"Please just call me Kagome. 'My mistress' just doesn't sound right."  
  
"As you wish my… Kagome,"  
  
"Have I really upset her as much as that neko jerk said?" Inuyasha thought to himself.  
  
"Hey Inuyasha! If you don't get moving they'll leave us behind" Shippo piped up from Inuyasha's shoulder.  
  
Inuyasha was about to bop the little kitsune for being annoying when something caught his eye and caused his heart to squeeze a bit… Shippo was wincing and tensing up, readying for the expected blow.  
  
Lowering his arm Inuyasha said nothing as he began walking forward. In seconds he became lost in a gut wrenching tumble of self recriminating thoughts.   
  
"Am I such a bastard that Shippo has now begun to expect me to hit him for everything he does?"  
  
A soft voice in his mind whispered "that's because you do."  
  
"But he deserves it…"  
  
Once again the voice of reason whispered "even for letting you know you were about to be left behind?"  
  
Inuyasha became increasingly silent as his thoughts began to chase each other around in his head.  
  
"Pup! Hey pup!"  
  
Inuyasha blinked as he came out of his reverie only to see Buyo watching him as they walked side by side. Looking ahead Inuyasha noticed that Shippo was now on Kagome's shoulder chatting with the rest of the group.  
  
"What was it you wanted to talk to me about earlier pup? It seemed serious so I sent the kit with the others."  
  
"Mmm, thanks" Inuyasha said a little absently.  
  
Buyo raised an eyebrow thinking that something must be really bugging the pup if he was thanking him.  
  
"Neko, I'm going to ask you something and I want you to take it seriously" Inuyasha said softly.  
  
"You've got my attention and my word pup."  
  
Inuyasha gave the cat demon a rueful smirk "I am just a pup aren't I…?"  
  
The last bit was said as if Inuyasha was muttering to himself so Buyo refrained from saying anything. "Go ahead and ask what you want pup" Buyo said gently.  
  
"Would it be worth it to become a full demon?"  
  
Buyo's eyes widened in shock as he sighed "you don't ask the easy ones do you pup?"  
  
Inuyasha smirked "I have it on many good authorities that I don't do anything easily."  
  
Buyo was silent as he studied the pup beside him. Buyo realized that he had made a mistake when he had told them how old he was. Watching them all he was grateful to whatever fates had made the group fail to realize that he was old enough to know the outcome of this little journey. At first, when Buyo had noticed Inuyasha in the beginning, he had wondered how this pup could've been the demon of legends in the tales of the Shikon shards. Now seeing him at this moment Buyo saw a bit of what was in those legends and knew Inuyasha was going to be worthy of having those tales told about him.  
  
"Inuyasha, why are you asking me this?" Buyo said slowly.  
  
Inuyasha's gaze slid over to the group of humans and one lone kitsune cub. "I want to protect them but not to the point that they would run from me instead of to me."  
  
Buyo gave a weak grin saying "there's more to you than just brawn isn't there pup? There's actually some brains hidden in there."  
  
Inuyasha let that go seeing the comment as the compliment it was supposed to be, in a twisted sort of way.  
  
Buyo sighed as he stared up at the sky, thinking of how to put what he wanted to say to the pup. Finally he settled for just plain bluntness… much like a steel pipe to the back of Inuyasha's head.  
  
"Inuyasha, do you want to kill humans?"  
  
Inuyasha rocked back as if he had felt the proverbial lead pipe while shouting "hell no!"  
  
The others turned at Inuyasha's outburst but went back to talking as Buyo waved off their concerns.  
  
"Seriously pup, do you really think that you would get away with being a full demon in this time and not have to kill some humans?"  
  
Inuyasha turned contemplative before saying "you've lived quite a while and I don't see you attacking humans."  
  
Buyo rolled his eyes saying "pup through out my life I don't know exactly how many humans I've killed but I do know it's more than all the digits you have on your hands and feet."  
  
Buyo gave Inuyasha a side glance as he continued "even now I still kill a human every now and then without any real regrets."  
  
Inuyasha stared at the cat demon with barely concealed horror "what do you mean 'even now'?"  
  
Buyo looked at Inuyasha with eyes gone dark from resolve "those who would harm my mistress are harmed or killed in return."  
  
Something clicked in Inuyasha's mind as he stared at the cat demon in front of him. The dog demon stayed silent for a moment as Buyo's last remark brought his original problem with the cat demon to the surface.  
  
"Buyo, you said those who would kill Kagome are killed in return…"  
  
With one eyebrow raised Buyo drawled "yes, and your point?"  
  
Inuyasha looked him in the eye saying "so why are you after Kikyo?"  
  
"Hmm? Oh! You mean the other scent that was on Kagome's shirt?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Little pup, haven't you been listening to a word we've been saying? The one named Kikyo tried to kill Kagome and in return I get my chance at her."   
  
Inuyasha titled his head forward a bit causing his bangs to overshadow his eyes "I can't let you harm her."  
  
"Who? Kagome? I'd never harm her!"  
  
Inuyasha abruptly turned his head without looking up "Feh! I meant Kikyo…"  
  
Buyo's eyes flashed in anger as he remembered the nightmares Kagome had been having those nights after that incident. "She cried pup. Kagome made sure there was no one around and then she just sat there and cried as if she would never have courage again."  
  
Inuyasha flung his head up to stare at Buyo as he felt the first stirrings of youki gather about them.  
  
Buyo's eyes bored into Inuyasha's as he hissed "so to save one already dead you would let this Kikyo kill Kagome, little hanyou?"  
  
Seeing the once friendly cat demon go deadly Inuyasha began to realize that Buyo was willing to kill Kikyo and even him if he got in the way.  
  
Buyo let out a soft hissing growl "well little hanyou? Will you choose the one who gives life, or the one that takes it?"  
  
"What do you mean by that?"  
  
"You still are like a newborn pup" Buyo snorted. "You don't have your eyes all the way open yet do you? The souls that the undead girl uses, what do you think happens to them after a while?"  
  
"I-I don't know…"  
  
"They die pup. Pure and simple. Who ever they had been, whatever they had done, no longer exists if she holds them within her too long. They never get the chance to watch over their descendants or even have a glimmer of hope at reincarnation."  
  
Buyo's eyes flashed "so which do you chose? Life, or death pup?"  
  
Standing straight with defiance Inuyasha replied "Feh! I choose to keep the way that I am already going."  
  
Buyo's eyes lightened until they were the normal golden amber and the looming aura faded as he looked at Inuyasha in disgust "so be it pup. Unlike you I will not allow both women to visit hell, only the one who deserves it."  
  
"Heed me well in this hanyou, one wrong move around Kagome and your precious golem will be no more than ashes on the wind."  
Buyo walked a few feet in front of Inuyasha before calling over his shoulder "oh, by the way, don't think you'll get any help from your friends in this matter. If it was between Kagome and Kikyo, who do you think they would save?"  
Inuyasha blinked as he looked at the group of humans in front of him. Sango and Kagome had their heads together while Miroku's hand began it's fate full journey to regions best left unexplored. In mere seconds Miroku had a spectacular lump on his head while Sango settled her boomerang back onto it's usual spot upon her back, while Kagome just laughed.  
  
Suddenly Inuyasha had a horrible vision of Kagome lying on the; ground red blood glistening around her, as her once warm chocolate eyes stared dully at nothing and her sparkling laughter muffled forever.  
  
"Inuyasha! Inuyasha!"  
  
Inuyasha quickly looked up into the face of the vibrant Miko as she said "Come on Inuyasha we're almost at the shard."  
  
Inuyasha nodded to let her know he had heard and watched as she went to the others cheering them on about how they would get the shard in no time. Glancing to her side he saw Buyo watching him and the cat demon's last question popped into his mind…  
  
"Life or Death pup, life or death? When it is needed which will you choose?"  
  
Inuyasha opened his mouth and began to whisper a name "K~" and then the world exploded as another fight for a shard began.  
@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@^@  
  
Ok peoples what did you think!? Some might think Inuyasha seemed a little too mature for a bit but let me tell you he does have those moments… -_-; Really he DOES. I hope to have the next one out soon and Please review! It makes me and my kitties very happy! -_- 


	7. Help!

Hello there ladies and gents!  
  
I really need all of your help for the next chapter… If there is anyone really good with Japanese please e-mail me what the next few things would be in Japanese. People to translate will be mentioned in the next chapter and have my eternal gratitude. This is really crucial to the next chapter so your help is really appreciated!  
  
Flaming Sun = ?  
  
Thunders roar = ?  
  
Earths binding = ?  
  
Twilights blades = ?  
I can continue the next chapter once I get the translations. If you'd like to be notified when it's up please leave your e-mail in the reviews.  
My E-Mail is: LianRyu@attbi.com  
Thank you all for reading this and giving such great reviews!! 


	8. Choose The Path

*******THE VOTING FOR THE INU/KAG OR BUYO/KAG IS NOW OVER*******  
  
Thank you all for your reviews and votes! It was wonderful to see how many of you enjoyed this story so far and to see that apparently quite a few of you like Buyo's character. I have finally been able to put the real chapter eight up and I hope you enjoy it. Please keep with me as the story goes and once again THANK YOU SO MUCH for the votes and reviews!! 


	9. Kikyo Appears and Buyo Needs A Scratchin...

@~@~@~@~@ *Lian peers from behind her door and looks around anxiously* Umm I'm sorry this took so long but can I please come out to present the story? *readers grumble but realize that if she doesn't come out the story will not go on.* O.K. I just wanted to say I'm sooo sorry this took so long. Here's my reason for the delay, let me say it flat out I was a little unclear about how  
  
to keep writing this story. My first draft of this chapter managed to get about 10 pages until I couldn't take it anymore, I chucked it... My next chapter only got three pages and then I decided to do the voting so there went the beginning of the second( I was going to add a character for Buyo), and this is my third. I have been told by some well known authors that you can only do a revision 3 times and if you do anymore it gets redundant. So to say the least here is the third and Final draft. *small voice* Please tell me if you like it. @~@~@~@~@  
  
Side note: Thanks to all that tried to help me with the translations!! (decided to just use English *big sigh*) *wails* and it would've been so cool in Japanese!  
  
Disclaimer: No I don't own the IY cast because if that was the case I'd be too deliriously happy to write!  
  
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Kikyo Appears and Buyo Needs A Scratching Post...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Recap:   
  
Inuyasha opened his mouth and began to whisper a name "K~" and then the world exploded as another fight for a shard began.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Ever one to act quickly, Kirara snatched Kagome by the neck of her shirt and flung the startled miko onto her back.  
  
As the fire cat demon rose into the air Kagome looked down at the creature that had attacked them and moaned "Centipedes! Why does it always have to be centipedes!"  
  
Sango turned her head to look at Kagome while saying "It hasn't always been centipedes, in fact it was a spider we defeated last time."  
  
Kagome scowled at her friend as they landed beside their four male companions "ok fine, then why does it always have to be bugs!?"  
  
Sango gave Kagome a twisted smile and shook her head at the exasperated Miko.  
  
"Feh, this is nothing" Inuyasha drawled as he transformed his beloved sword.  
  
Sure enough within a few minutes time the centipede was on the ground in pieces. At this point Kagome began to walk towards the mass that was giving it's last death twitches when one of the jerking legs whipped out and caught Kagome in the back of her legs. With an undignified squeak Kagome landed on her rear stunned at what had just happened.   
  
Inuyasha, being such a tactful person, began laughing immediately which in turn caused his immediate gravitation towards the earth with a very high impact rate.  
  
"What the hell was that for bitch!?"  
  
Once again Inuyasha's face met good ol' mother earth but what finally caught his attention was that Kagome had not said a word during all this.  
  
"You idiot" Buyo drawled as he leaped off of Inuyasha's head to go and help Kagome up.  
  
Inuyasha glared as Buyo wrapped his tail around Kagome's waist to lift her up while dusting her off with his hands. "Mis ~ ahem Kagome, why in the world do you stick around this guy?"  
  
Kagome sighed and tried to bat away Buyo's hands, though when it looked like he wasn't going to stop until he was sure every speck of dirt was off her she leaned forward in mid air to grasp the shard that was just below her.  
  
"Kagome-chan!" Sango gasped.  
  
Still somewhat upside down after she had just grabbed the shard Kagome just looked at Sango from under her legs replying "what?"  
  
Kagome heard an exasperated sigh from above her as the world began to revolve when Buyo began to bring her upright. "Kagome, you are no longer going to wear skirts here unless they are quite a bit longer. Though I think jeans or sweats would be best."  
  
"What in the world are you talking about!?"  
  
In reply Buyo pointed towards a round eyed hanyou and a pile of bruises with a still twitching hand that used to be in the form of a lecherous monk.  
  
From the scandalized look on Sango's face to the condition of the other two it finally dawned on Kagome what Buyo meant. She had accidentally flashed the group when grabbing the shard.  
  
Kagome then heard a snort and turned her head just in time to catch Inuyasha's voice.  
  
"Red, I knew she liked this color."  
  
Kagome's eyes went wide while Buyo slapped a hand to his forehead "idiot."  
  
"SSSIIIIITTT!!" Kagome screamed, startling most of the birds within a twenty foot radius of them all.  
  
"I, oh, ARRGH!" Kagome was so pissed that she couldn't even speak straight.   
  
Whirling around the futuristic miko stomped towards the village that they had been originally headed towards before the attack. Not even giving a backwards glance towards the twitching priest, Sango with Shippo hanging on her shoulder quickly caught up to her friend.  
  
Buyo stared at the twitching forms for a moment before he muttered "pathetic" and caught up to the two ladies on the path. He then put an arm around each of their shoulders with a dramatic flair. The two prone men watched as the cat demon grinned at them over his shoulder as the four disappeared around the trees.  
  
After another moment or two the "sit" had finally worn off of Inuyasha and Miroku stood brushing off his robes. The two looked at one another in silent communication and proceeded to head to the village at top speed.  
  
The monk and demon stopped at the edge of the large village searching for any sign of their group but saw nothing.  
  
Miroku sighed "Inuyasha, it looks like it's up to you to find them."  
  
"Keh" was the only thing Inuyasha said as he lifted his nose to the air trying to find Kagome's scent. Within seconds he had the Miko's scent and took off scowling at the smell of the cat demon with them.  
  
People parted swiftly as the thunderous dog demon and monk swiftly walked through town. The two continued only to find themselves in front of a small Inn with steam rising in the background.  
  
"It figures the wench would find a place with hot springs" Inuyasha growled as he opened the door and stepped inside.  
  
"About time the two of you got here."  
  
Inuyasha and Miroku whirled to see Buyo leaning against the doorframe of the entrance watching them with a bored look on his face.  
  
Miroku's eyes narrowed as he watched the cat demon "you weren't there a second ago."  
  
Buyo simply shrugged as he patted the shadowed wall behind him. Gliding away from the doorway Buyo went up to the Inn keeper saying "these are the other two of our party. Remember them."  
  
Waving a hand Buyo motioned to the suspicious pair saying 'let me show you to our room."  
  
As they walked down the hall Buyo had to roll his eyes at the waves of distrust radiating off the two behind him "you know you two should take a bath. You might actually relax a bit."  
  
Then the scornful cat demon gave a slight sniff and wrinkled his nose "also smell a bit better too."  
  
A murderous look came into Inuyasha's eyes as he growled "that's it! Fur-ball is going down!"  
  
Buyo evaded Inuyasha's tackle by leaping back through a doorway replying "I really wouldn't do that if I were you."  
  
Inuyasha sneered as he jumped at the cat demon again "scared?"  
  
"SIT!"  
  
Buyo leaned over the red clad form at his feet saying "no. Just smart enough to not fight in Kagome's presence."  
  
Kagome came stomping up to the two demons exasperated "could you two possibly be at least civil to each other for one trivial day!"  
  
At the same time both demons pointed to the other saying "he started it!"  
  
Kagome flung her hands in the air while growling in irritation.  
  
Shippo smirked "I think we should take that as a no..."  
  
Kagome rummaged through her bag and collected her bathing items, then turned to Sango saying "let's go, I really need to relax before I hurt something." Turning her eyes to the two scowling demons she then continued "or someone."  
  
After the women left Miroku tried to follow them, of course, which in turn led to him being knocked unconscious and dragged to the baths by the two demons with Shippo sighing as he trailed behind the three. The rest of the night went pretty smoothly and once the sun was in the sky the merry *ahem* little band once again set out on their quest for more shards.  
  
As they were passing through a large clearing in the forest something white and squiggly caught Shippo's eye "hey, what's that?"  
  
Everyone turned to see what had caught Shippo's interest when a breeze swept a familiar scent to Inuyasha.  
  
"Kikyo" he whispered.  
  
Soon after his soft proclamation Kikyo walked into the clearing with her soul catchers swirling about her.  
  
Buyo narrowed his eyes as he tried to catch the faint memory that this new persons scent tried to bring to the front. In a moment he remembered what it was and growled out "you are dead miko" and sprang for Kikyo.   
  
Shocked at the sudden attack Inuyasha almost missed his chance to grab Buyo. Fortunately he was able to grab the enraged cat demon, but unfortunately Inuyasha had grabbed Buyo's tail.  
  
Buyo let out an ear piercing screech and swiftly spun around and clawed Inuyasha in the shoulder. In turn Inuyasha quickly jumped back, pulled his sword out, and faced off with Buyo.  
  
Kagome quickly ran in between the two with her arms out stretched "what the blazons is going on here!?"  
  
"That is the Thing that keep trying to kill you Kagome so therefore I will not let it live" Buyo hissed as he gave a heated glance towards Kikyo.  
  
"Buyo..." Kagome said with a subdued voice.  
  
"Keh, Kikyo hasn't tried killing Kagome at anytime. Kagome would've told me!"  
  
"That's where you're wrong Inuyasha..."Kagome said with her head down, bangs hiding her eyes. "Kikyo has tried to kill me before."  
  
Buyo smirked at the stunned dog demon "you see."  
  
"Kagome, why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Kagome gave a tired sigh "I have tried to tell you Inuyasha, but you keep brushing it off like I'm imagining it, so I no longer tell you when your perfect Kikyo isn't being so perfect."  
  
"If you are all through with speaking as if I am not here I would like to ask for the Jewel shards now" Kikyo said in a chilling voice.  
  
Kagome's head whipped up and glared at Kikyo "why? Just so you can take what few we have managed to gather since you gave Naraku our last piece of the shard?"  
  
Kikyo stood there impassively "does this mean you refuse to give up the shards?"  
  
"You bet it does" Kagome growled.  
  
"So be it" those words were the only warning Buyo had before Kikyo shot an arrow straight at Kagome.  
  
Just before the arrow reached Kagome, Buyo quickly caught it then threw the burning object to the ground with a growl as he held his now injured hand to his chest.   
  
"Buyo!" Kagome exclaimed as she went to check on her friend. Buyo watched both Kikyo and Inuyasha as Kagome fussed over his hand. What he saw or the lack thereof was that Inuyasha was not reprimanding Kikyo for her murder attempt. His blood began to boil even more as he watched Inuyasha's eyes fill with a confused longing and the hanyou took a few steps towards the Miko.   
  
"The bitch had just tried to kill Kagome and all the damn hanyou could do was stare at her!?" Buyo thought his vision beginning to cloud with red. Like hell he was going to let that slide.   
  
Gently he pushed Kagome to one side and before anyone could act he yelled out "Twilights blades!" as sickle shaped blades sprang from his shadow and headed towards Kikyo.  
  
Kagome let out a gasp of horror as there was a flash of red and then a small explosion from the side of the area where Kikyo had been standing. Slightly stumbling back from Buyo Kagome ran into Sango behind her. Looking at the others Kagome saw shock written across the faces of her friends.  
  
Turning back Kagome saw what had happened as the smoke cleared from the glade. There stood Inuyasha panting with his sword raised and protecting Kikyo. A pang of hurt went through Kagome's heart when she realized that Inuyasha had leaped to Kikyo's defense just after the undead Miko had tried to kill her. Then something within her began to chill as she heard Inuyasha's next words.  
  
"No one is going to kill Kikyo. I promised to protect her and so I will."  
  
Sango, Miroku, and Shippo gasped at what Inuyasha was saying. Miroku quickly looked at Kagome and did not like what he saw at all. Kagome had one lone tear trail down her face and nothing more. Just as he was about to say something he was stopped by Buyo's voice.  
  
"Then you shall both die hanyou" Buyo spat with burning venom in his voice.   
  
Fiery gold met molten amber as Inuyasha and Buyo glared at each other with claws bared and teeth glinting in the light.  
  
"Inuyasha! Buyo! ~ Mrph!" whatever Kagome had been about to say was quickly muffled by Sango's hand over the young miko's mouth.  
  
"Kagome don't... I don't think even you should get in the way at this moment. Those two are completely serious."  
  
Kagome watched her two best friends stare at one another while circling, just waiting for an opening in the others defense. "That's why I have to stop them! I don't want them getting hurt" Kagome almost shouted as her voice faded into a sob.  
  
"Kagome, I think it's safe to say that Inuyasha has pushed Buyo's limits too far for the cat demon to listen to you. You may still see Buyo as your fuzzy little pet but he truly is a full  
  
blooded demon and he is devoted to you. If Inuyasha had just shouted at Kikyo or at least asked what the hell she was doing trying to shoot you then things might not have gotten this far, but instead he had just stood there so Buyo decided to attack" Sango said trying to get some sense into Kagome.  
  
"Even then, there was still time to settle things if Inuyasha had confronted Kikyo after rebounding Buyo's attack but instead he told Buyo that he wasn't going to let anyone harm Kikyo. In Buyo's mind Inuyasha was saying that it was all-right that Kikyo had shot at you. We all know that isn't true but, well Inuyasha's let his indecision go to far and here is the results" Miroku concluded with his own opinion.  
  
Kagome realized that what her friends were saying was true, but that still didn't help her much as she watched two of the people she held close to her heart about to beat the crap out of each other. A movement off to their left caught her eye and she saw that Kikyo was getting up to leave.  
  
"Where do you think you are going?" Kagome said fury beginning to heat up in her voice.  
  
Kikyo turned her head to face Kagome "this is none of my concern."  
  
At these words a flame began burning deep within Kagome's soul "none of this is your concern? Inuyasha is now about to fight Buyo because of you and you dare to say it's none of your concern!"  
  
Kikyo just gave Kagome a cold glance and began to turn to leave.  
  
Seeing this something within Kagome snapped. The banked fire of the anger within her soul now raged through-out her body. Power gathered about her form in pink and silver waves and settled about her like a shimmering cloak.   
  
"There is no way in heaven or hell you are leaving here now bitch" Kagome hissed.  
  
Sango's and Miroku's eyes widened at the seething force that Kagome was displaying. They didn't know whether to shiver from the cold that was in Kagome's eyes as they focused on the undead Miko or back away from the heat of Kagome's fiery aura.  
  
Thinking that the display of power might've alerted the two demons to the new situation Miroku glanced over to the males fight only to realize that Kagome's power didn't even come close to the two. Miroku's eyes widened as it hit him that yes, Kagome was pissed, yes she was displaying a hell of a lot of power, but she was in control of it all...  
  
Panic now formed in Kikyo's eyes as she realized that she had finally pushed the other Miko one step to far. Kikyo, in her panic, tried to run but then she heard Kagome growl "No way..." and suddenly she slammed into an invisible wall.  
  
Kikyo looked up from her position of being sprawled on the ground and saw Kagome watching her as a wolf looks at a terrified rabbit.  
  
"Kagome-chan..." Sango began to say.  
  
"No" Kagome said with a flat tone of voice.  
  
"Ka~" Sango tried again but this time was cut of by Miroku's hand on her shoulder. Sango looked at him and he grimily shook his head warning her not to get involved.  
  
"I have generously let you have enough of my soul to allow you to wander in the hopes that you wouldn't waste this time you have dabbling in petty revenge schemes. Even after all this time low and behold I find that instead of trying to resolve your issues that you left when you died you have continuously have tried to not only drag Inuyasha to hell but have tried to kill me and my friends as well!"  
  
Hearing all this Kikyo decided to finally put some of her spine back together and try to stand up to Kagome. "Look you little copy~"  
  
"COPY!" Kagome raged as she somehow began to tower over Kikyo "how the blazons can I be a copy of you!? I, at least have a personality!"  
  
Shippo grinned "ooh that's gotta hurt."  
  
In response Kikyo quickly drew an arrow and fired it at Kagome.  
  
The shout of "Kagome!" drawn from the two humans and one kitsune's throat finally caught the attention of the two quarreling demons on the other side of the clearing. Both Inuyasha's and Buyo's eyes widened as they saw the power radiating from Kagome and panic welled in their hearts as they saw the purifying arrow head straight for Kagome's chest.  
  
"Kagome!" Buyo shouted while Inuyasha shouted "Kikyo!"  
  
Everyone saw the smirk that graced Kikyo's face when Kagome flinched at Inuyasha shouting the other Miko's name. Kikyo's smirk quickly disappeared when Kagome calmly plucked the arrow out of it's killing path and looked at it.  
  
"So that's the way of it Inuyasha?" Kagome said sadly as she held the arrow in her hands.  
  
"Kagome..." Inuyasha said with a hand reaching out to her.  
  
Kagome's head flung upwards to pin Inuyasha where he stood with her cold gaze "no more of this Inuyasha. I'm tired of your games of kick the heart, especially when it is mine that you decide to use so frequently."  
  
Slowly Kagome's aura of power dwindled and she stood there tall and alone, until Buyo went to her side and held her hand. Seconds after Shippo scampered over to the two and Buyo leaned an arm down which Shippo gratefully used to climb up to the full demon's shoulder.  
  
Kikyo slowly walked over to Inuyasha and stood slightly behind him as if declaring her position. Sango and Miroku looked at each other knowing what they did now would be monumental to their future. On the right side of the field stood Kagome, Buyo, and Shippo. On the left stood Inuyasha and Kikyo.  
  
Suddenly Kirara leaped off of Sango's shoulder, transformed to her full size, and trotted over to Inuyasha. Kirara looked into Inuyasha's eyes for a moment before giving a sad mewling sigh and proceeded to walk over to Kagome. When the twin tailed cat demon reached Kagome she placed one paw over the jewel hanging from Kagome's neck and closed her ruby colored eyes. After a moment Kirara opened them again and looked straight at Kikyo. Kirara shook her head in a negative manner and then curled up at Kagome's feet.  
  
Even before seeing her beloved pet/partner go to Kagome's side Sango knew she could never leave Kagome for Kikyo.   
  
Sango gazed at Inuyasha for a bit before saying "I hope one day you find a better happiness then the one you have thrown away Inuyasha. I still care for you deeply as a close friend, but that will not stop me from doing what's right." That said the demon hunter went to the group on the right side of the field and stood beside Buyo.  
  
Inuyasha couldn't believe what was happening, everyone was leaving him.  
  
Inside his head a voice snorted "of course they are stupid, you basically sided with the bitch trying to kill their best friend. What did you think was going to happen? That after the how many times that Kagome's been shot at they would just again forgive you for siding with a pile of dirt? You saw it with your own eyes this time, wait it was now two times that Kikyo's tried to KILL Kagome and when in the middle of trouble you called the golem's name once again. Face it, you blew it big time and there is no going back this time."  
  
The voice then faded out leaving behind the cold feeling of despair to settle into Inuyasha's soul. They were really doing this, they were going to outcast him.  
  
Suddenly the voice inside popped up to say "don't blame them boy-yo, you cast yourself out..." before fading permanently this time.  
  
Miroku was now the only one left to decide his fate. His eyes shimmered with held in emotions at having to decide which of his friends to go with. Slowly Miroku walked up to Inuyasha and stared into the dog demon's pleading gaze. Miroku lowered his eyes as he pulled an ofuda from his sleeve saying "Inuyasha, if you ever decide that we are more important than the spell doll Miko use this and we will come to you."  
  
With painful steps Miroku turned, went to the group on the right side of the field, and took up his place by Kagome's left side.  
  
Kagome's stormy grey-blue eyes watched the two across the way as she held up the hand that still held Kikyo's arrow pulsing with slight power. "Inuyasha, you now have the Miko you wanted by your side to search for the Jewel, I wish you luck. I hope one day to met you under better circumstances, but until that day comes may this arrow serve a reminder of this day."  
  
With that said Kagome walked across the way to the hanyou and the Miko. Once facing the two, with a slight show of power, Kagome banished Kikyo's aura from the arrow, turned it black, and promptly snapped it in two. Silently she held the pieces out to Inuyasha and watched as he held out his hand almost as if in a trance. Kagome placed the broken arrow into his hand and kissed his cheek whispering "goodbye Inuyasha."  
  
Kagome turned, walked to the group waiting for her, and once there continued walking with the rest of the group filing behind her.  
  
Inuyasha could only watch as his friends faded into the darkness of the forest. He stood there for a few moments as if waiting there would bring them all back shouting that it was just one horrible joke. When another moment passed Inuyasha realized that they were truly gone.  
  
Painfully the dog demon crumpled to the ground whispering "Kagome."   
  
Then he did something that he hadn't done since he was a pup. Inuyasha, the slayer of hundreds of demons, wept. He never saw his tears mix with the blood that came from his hand from grasping the arrow tightly to him, never saw the icy look on Kikyo's face at his breakdown, all he could see was two sorrowful blue-grey eyes and hear the whispered words "goodbye Inuyasha."  
  
~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*~*@*~*  
  
ACK! Dodges objects thrown at her. Hoping to placate the readers Lian shouts Hey! Hey! This isn't the end you know... *readers look at the end of the chapter and continue throwing things* Erk! Sorry! Sorry! But to let you all know I did tally up all the reviews and all the e-mails and I was quite surprised at how many there were for Buyo and Kagome. Heck I was surprised that I even got that many votes at all... Thank you so much! I would tell you who won but that would  
  
ruin a huge chunk of the story *sees people begin to take up objects again* Wait please! I do have a solution that will probably make everyone happy it's just that you'll have to keep reading to see it. Please read and review, oh and if you would be so kind as to take a look at the title  
  
"Wondering" that I have I would be eternally grateful! Thank you all so much!  
  
~*@*~*~*@*~Spoiler Notes: If you haven't gotten to where the group visits Sango's village  
  
after Sango joins their group then don't read this!!! ~*@*~*~*@*~*  
  
Some of you might've wondered about Kirara's behavior when she chose Kagome's side. Here's basically what happened, Kirara was actually a partner to Midoriko (the Miko who created the Jewel) and so Kirara was asking the soul where it truly wanted to be. Apparently it wanted to stay with Kagome since Kirara didn't take the jewel and give it to Kikyo. Hope that helped. 


	10. Kagome or Inuyasha? Who's to Know?

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* WARNING This is not a true chapter *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Last vote to be counted on 02-16-04 *^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Yes I know you are all about to kill me for this but I need to know which foot you want to start off on. For the next 4-6 chapters the storyline will be split into two different lines. One will be the view from Kagome's group and the other will be from Inuyasha's. They both will still be hunting the shards but they will be having different adventures until fate (or a mischievous author) decides to throw their butts back together.  
  
The question is this, would you like to start with Kagome's chapter or Inuyasha's? Both have their chapters halfway finished, (been having a lot of life problems… health wise and other) so no matter who you choose the timeframe of the completed chapter is still the same.  
  
Another note is that when the chosen chapter is finished it will replace this vote. If you would like to be updated as to when the next chapter is out either leave your e-mail in a review or just say "contact me" in your review if you are a part of FF.net.  
  
*Bows* I pray nothing will rear it's ugly head any more and I'll finish the chapters 2 weeks from the time this announcement is posted. Thank you all for everything that you have done for me and I hope to keep you entertained in the near future.  
  
Lian Leviathan 


	11. Learning To Let Go

Okay people, no excuses for lack of updates I'm just going to say they will now be starting up once again. For those of you who have been still faithful to me I praise you most highly for your diligence in sticking with this story. Chapter length will be varying from now on, with being anywhere from 2 to 15 pages... all depends on when I feel a chapter should really end. Mmm ok now with that over with here is the next chapter.

Recap:

Kagome's stormy grey-blue eyes watched the two across the way as she held up the hand that still held Kikyo's arrow pulsing with slight power. "Inuyasha, you now have the Miko you wanted by your side to search for the Jewel, I wish you luck. I hope one day to met you under better circumstances, but until that day comes may this arrow serve a reminder of this day."

With that said Kagome walked across the way to the hanyou and the Miko. Once facing the two, with a slight show of power, Kagome banished Kikyo's aura from the arrow, turned it black, and promptly snapped it in two. Silently she held the pieces out to Inuyasha and watched as he held out his hand almost as if in a trance. Kagome placed the broken arrow into his hand and kissed his cheek whispering "goodbye Inuyasha."

Kagome turned, walked to the group waiting for her, and once there continued walking with the rest of the group filing behind her.

Inuyasha could only watch as his friends faded into the darkness of the forest. He stood there for a few moments as if waiting there would bring them all back shouting that it was just one horrible joke. When another moment passed Inuyasha realized that they were truly gone.

Learning To Let Go...

All four of the Shikon no tama group watched Kagome with concern in their eyes as they got farther and farther from the glade where they had left Inuyasha and Kikyo. They were extremely worried about the silence that seemed to hang around the young miko and prayed that she would make it through this without too much harm...

They walked for about three hours in total silence, which was a record for Shippo at the time. The young kit desperately wanted to say something to his surrogate mother but every time he got up the courage to say something it died away at the look in Kagome's eyes. Finally he couldn't take it anymore and Shippo began to wail.

Kagome's head snapped up at the sound of Shippo's first cry. Smiling gently Kagome gathered the young kitsune to her and began petting his head while murmuring reassurances.

Kagome took a look at their surroundings, then nodded saying "we should make camp here."

Seeing that Kagome was slowly coming back to herself the others quickly agreed and began the chores to set camp. After one worrying glance Buyo sighed before heading into the forest to hunt something for their meal that night.

Kagome stood in the middle of the clearing, which was soon to be their camp, and watched as the others left to do their assigned tasks. Giving a sigh she snuggled Shippo to her and sat upon the log just behind her.

"Kagome, why are we here?" Shippo asked as he looked up at her with wide eyes.

Kagome's brow furrowed in slight puzzlement "what do you mean Shippo?"

"I mean why didn't we head back towards the village? Why are we heading this direction and not back towards home?

Kagome closed her eyes as if in pain and whispered brokenly "because Shippo, more than likely Inuyasha is heading that way and I can't deal with seeing him right now..."

"Oh. Mommy..." Shippo began to say.

At the word mommy Kagome's eyes flew open in shock to look at the little kit in her arms"

Seeing the look on Kagome's face Shippo realized what he had said and began to apologize "I'm sorry Kago"

Giving a gentle smile she hugged Shippo and said "no kit... there is nothing to apologize for. Now what were you going to say?"

Shippo squirmed a bit before saying "are we ever going to see Inuyasha again? I wouldn't mind never seeing Kikyo but..."

Kagome smiled through the pain the simple question brought her "of course we'll see him Shippo, I don't know when but I'm sure we will."

Shippo nodded and gave a smiling yawn "alright mommy" before he fell asleep in Kagome's arms.

Kagome gave a watery smile to the softly dozing kitsune "we'll see him little one, I just don't know under what circumstances though."

They were now both after the shards and out for Naraku's destruction, but with Kikyo in the mix what did that make them? Compatriots? Rivals? Possibly, even enemies? Kagome shook her head to clear it of such dismal thoughts 'Inuyasha made his choice just as we made ours.'

A rustling in the bushes ahead alerted her to someone's presence and she relaxed as soon as she saw Buyo walk into the glade with a brace of rabbits. Seeing her long time friend Kagome gave him a welcoming smile.

Buyo paused at the edge of the clearing to take in the scene before him. Kagome was sitting on a log holding Shippo like any mother would. The breeze was lightly playing with her hair as the setting sun lit up the smile she had and gave her a warm glow about her. Then he looked into her eyes and immediately wanted to go hunt down the bastard hanyou and rip his throat out. Kagome's normally vibrant sapphire blue eyes were now a dull grey like a sullen rainstorm. There was still a spark of life there and he knew the only reason it was there was because Kagome felt she owed her life to her friends. Buyo quickly shook his head to clear such thoughts away, well to at least shove them to the back of his mind. Striding forward he looped the free end of the rope that held the rabbits over a protruding branch and then went over to Kagome, smiling at the kit in her arms.

'Here is her main reason for her still being in this world, this small bright shining star.' Buyo silently held his arms out for the small kitsune and Kagome gently placed the dozing kit into his strong embrace. Smiling Buyo shifted Shippo to one arm and held the other one out to help Kagome rise from her perch on the log. After she got up from her seat Kagome kept one hand on Buyo's arm as she leaned in to smile at the softly dozing kit in the other demon's arm.

This was the scene that Miroku and Sango happened to walk in on. To the eyes of the Priest and Exterminator it was a warm family moment that they would remember for a long time to come.

A moment later Kagome looked up to see her two friends at the edge of the clearing and instead of breaking the mood she gave a gentle smile of welcome that seemed to encompass the two. Smiling Miroku and Sango walked forward and joined the small group. As one they huddled together to just contemplate the feeling that surrounded them all. Soon after the glow faded and all that was left was a simple sense of well being.

For a moment Kagome felt a stab of remorse that she should feel this way when the group had just been split, but then she realized that that there was nothing to be done now except to continue on. Straightening her back she gave a brilliant smile to the others and they all gave a mental sigh of relief Knowing that Kagome was going to be ok.

There we go that was the initial reaction of the group from Kagome's side. I know a lot of you are going to be like "hey she got over that fast!" but in reality she hasn't. All that Kagome has done is realize that she has to put herself aside and fight for her friends at the moment. The next chapter will be Inuyasha's reaction and then we will get onto the shard hunting views. Thank you all once again and I hope to see you in the next chapter!


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